'I'm Not Running For Cover' | Ravens Coach John Harbaugh Says He Trusts The NFL's Doctors On COVID-19 Safety Protocols Despite Dr. Fauci's Warning
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh discussed the league's approach to reopening amid the COVID-19 threat, saying he trusts the NFL's doctors recommendations despite a warning from leading infectious disease specialist Dr. Anthony Fauci.
WJZ Sports Director Mark Viviano asked Harbaugh about Fauci's comments saying he's not sure if NFL games will be played this season.
Fauci, who's the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and was a part of President Donald Trump's coronavirus task force, told CNN he believes football teams will need to live inside a "bubble" in order to be able to play their respective 2020 seasons.
"Unless players are essentially in a bubble -- insulated from the community and they are tested nearly every day -- it would be very hard to see how football is able to be played this fall. If there is a second wave, which is certainly a possibility and which would be complicated by the predictable flu season, football may not happen this year," Fauci said told CNN.
But, Harbaugh said Dr. Fauci isn't the NFL's doctor and that he trusts the doctors in the league to make a decision that keeps players safe.
"The [NFL] doctors are putting these protocols together, " Harbaugh said. "We had a conference call last week with those guys... and I'm very confident that they understand the details of all that."
"I think everybody's going to do their best," he added. "You know it's a new world and, you can look at any way you want to look at it, but I'm not going to run for cover and I don't think the NFL is either."
But he said the league and the Ravens will put safety first.
"They're going to try to be safe and secure and safety is going to come first, and health of all of us involved -- the game and the fans are going to be a major priority," Harbaugh continued. "Nobody knows what's going to happen next six months. No human being knows that, so we'll just have to be very adaptable and flexible and smart about what we do and that's what we're going to try to do. That's my view on it."
